The Technical
Writing (TWRT) program at De Anza offers challenging courses
taught by industry professionals. Core courses are offered during
evenings to accommodate working students; some courses may even be taken
as online classes. Students may earn
credits toward a certificate or associates degree, or take individual
courses for professional enrichment.

Note: TWRT 61 through 64 are also listed in the Business (BUS) and English Writing (EWRT)
departments under the same course numbers (61 through 64).
Students may enroll in only one department for credit.

Students entering De Anza college can explore technical writing
by fulfilling their General Education requirement in English with a special
section of English Writing 1A that is taught with an emphasis on technical writing.
This class is also a good choice to
fulfill the English prerequisite for the Technical Writing certificate or degree programs.
Check De Anza's online,
searchable class schedule for availability of this EWRT 1A section.

TWRT 61 Introduction to Technical Writing (4
units)Prerequisites: English 1A or ESL 5
Four hours lecture
(Also listed as BUS 61 and EWRT 61. Students may
enroll in only one department for credit.)

TWRT 61 introduces technical writing techniques, conventions, and standards.
Students produce a portfolio
of short documents including their resume and a cover letter, a functional
description, and instructions for a procedure. They
develop skills in functional, descriptive, and process writing, as well as
designing documents, using tables and lists, and editing accurately.

Students engage in these activities:

Exploring the World Wide Web to discover technical writing resources

Marketing their strengths with a resume and cover letter

Identifying topics, audiences, and purposes for writing

Outlining, designing, and writing short documents

Using Styles in MS Word to create documents and templates

Compiling a portfolio of professional quality writing samples
suitable for presenting at job interviews

This course is offered on campus and online.

TWRT 62 Survey of Technical Writing (4
units)Prerequisites: TWRT 61 (may be taken concurrently)
Four hours lecture
(Also listed as BUS 62 and EWRT 62. Students may
enroll in only one department for credit.)

TWRT 62
focuses on many types of writing assignments faced in the technical
and business world. Program planning and project management skills are
emphasized as students work individually and in groups on a variety of
increasingly complex assignments in short formats.
Projects are drawn from case studies simulating real world assignments
in a variety of industries. Students practice their skills by writing
the following types of documents:

Technical correspondence

Analytical reports

Proposals

Project plans and schedules

Progress reports

PowerPoint presentations

Empirical research reports

These projects allow students to add more writing samples to
the professional technical writing portfolios they created in TWRT 61.

This course is offered on campus and online.

TWRT 63 Technical Publications(4
units)Prerequisites: TWRT 61
Four hours lecture
(Also listed as BUS 63 and EWRT 63. Students may
enroll in only one department for credit.)

TWRT 63
hones students' planning, designing, writing, and editing skills.
Students learn the document development cycle
"on the job" as each student plans and produces a camera-ready
technical manual of portfolio quality. They also improve their
writing skills through in-depth study of writing mechanics and style,
and they develop their graphics skills through study and application of
graphic design principles.

Each student acts as a subject matter expert on one project and the writer on another project.
Participating in both roles, students experience both sides of interviewing subject matter
experts and editing for content and copy. Each student produces all the
documents of a complete document development cycle including:

Project proposal

Functional specification

Document blueprint

Review drafts

Final, camera-ready artwork and prototype

Students are responsible for producing professional quality, printed and bound prototypes of
their finished manuals. (Many students choose to perform the printing and binding themselves,
learning skills which may come in handy later in their careers when deadlines loom.)
These manuals make particularly impressive additions to the professional technical writing
portfolios students began compiling in TWRT 61 and TWRT 62.

TWRT 64 Technical Writing Seminar (4 units)Prerequisites: TWRT 62 or TWRT 63
Four hours lecture
(Also listed as BUS 64 and EWRT 64. Students may
enroll in only one department for credit.)

TWRT 64 focuses on applying skills learned throughout the program to plan and
execute a complete, real-world technical writing project in a team
environment. Projects may be drawn from the needs of other departments on
campus, special projects requested by nonprofit groups, or tasks related to
the students' chosen fields. Deliverables may include equipment manuals,
user guides, Web sites, newsletters, online documentation, and other
forms of technical writing. Students also apply their organizational and
analytical skills to read and critique technical articles and write a
non-fiction article for publication.

TWRT 64 students add writing samples from their class projects
to the professional technical writing portfolios they compiled
throughout the program.

TWRT 66 Special Topics in Technical Writing (1
unit)Prerequisites: TWRT 61
One hour lecture for each unit of credit

TWRT 66
offers the opportunity to focus upon a specific area of technical
writing. Subjects may include:

TWRT 71
explores the differences between online and traditional paper-based
documentation. Students plan, develop, and implement an online documentation project
using skills they learn in the areas of:

Writing for online delivery

Designing pages for online delivery

Using various state-of-the-art tools and technologies to develop and deliver documents online

TWRT __ Grant WritingAdvisory: TWRT 61
Two hours lecture
Note: This class is currently being developed

This class
is an introduction to writing grant applications, focusing on format, appropriate vocabulary,
convincing language, and editing. Each class meeting concentrates on a different
component of the application and guides students through the process of writing their own
grants, as well as teaching the necessary skills for students who want to pursue careers
as grant writers.